Of Life Before Accepting Christ Series

“Of Life Before Accepting Christ” Ephesians 2:1-3

A Life of Death…

A Life of Sin…

A Life of disobedience under God’s wrath…

Donald Grey Barnhouse, led the son of a prominent American family to the Lord. He was in the service, but he showed the reality of his conversion by immediately professing Christ before the soldiers of his military company. The war ended. The day came when he was to return to his pre-war life in the wealthy suburb of a large American city. He talked to Barnhouse about life with his family and expressed fear that he might soon slip back into his old habits. He was afraid that love for parents, brothers, sisters, and friends might turn him from following after Jesus Christ. Barnhouse told him that if he was careful to make public confession of his faith in Christ, he would not have to worry. He would not have to give improper friends up. They would give him up.

As a result of this conversation the young man agreed to tell the first ten people of his old set whom he encountered that he had become a Christian. The soldier went home. Almost immediately--in fact, while he was still on the platform of the suburban station at the end of his return trip--he met a girl whom he had known socially. She was delighted to see him and asked how he was doing. He told her, "The greatest thing that could possibly happen to me has happened." "You’re engaged to be married," she exclaimed. "No," he told her. "It’s even better than that. I’ve taken the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior." The girls’ expression froze. She mumbled a few polite words and went on her way. A short time later the new Christian met a young man whom he had known before going into the service. "It’s good to see you back," he declared. "We’ll have some great parties now that you’ve returned." "I’ve just become a Christian," the soldier said. He was thinking, That’s two! Again it was a case of a frozen smile and a quick change of conversation. After this the same circumstances were repeated with a young couple and with two more old friends. By this time word had got around, and soon some of his friends stopped seeing him. He had become peculiar, religious, and -- who knows! -- they may even have called him crazy! What had he done? Nothing but confess Christ. The same confession that had aligned him with Christ had separated him from those who did not want Jesus Christ as Savior and who, in fact, did not even want to hear about Him. J.M. Boice, Christ’s Call To Discipleship, Moody, 1986, p. 122-23.

Let’s review what we were called from and offer this to others on a continuing basis.

A Life of Death…

Ephes. 2:1 (NIV)

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,

Today let’s give God glory for what He died to save us from.

Apart from Him we would be dead in our transgressions.

Do you remember what your life was like before?

The amazing thing is we are told that we were “nekros”-Gk., a corpse, dead.

God’s word tells us that we were dead in our “paraptoma”, Gk., our slip ups; our intentional or unintentional sins.

And in our “hermartia”, Gk., our offense or sin.

We all start in death because of intentional and unintentional mistakes--sin in our lives.

H.S. Miller says, “Death is the separation of a person from the purpose or use for which he was intended” (quoted by Lehman Strauss, Devotional Studies in Galatians and Ephesians, p.137).

God created us to know and experience Him.

The bible speaks of three separate deaths

Physical Death

“For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Cor. 15:21-22).

“And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).

Spiritual Death

“He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life” (1 John 5:12).

And Eternal Death

“Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power” (2 Thes. 1:9).

Of course Christ died so that all who believe on Him would have eternal life.

So if you have not trusted in Christ you are spiritually dead—

dead to God,

dead even while he lives upon this earth.

Again, the passage describes our lives before we accepted Christ.

The major question then becomes: Have you accepted Jesus Christ as Lord?

A Life of Sin…

Ephes. 2:1-2 (NIV)

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, [2] in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.